1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage facility keeping in store foods such as Kimchi which is the Korean preserved vegetables, and more particularly, to a Kimchi storage facility having a non-contact power supply device which supplies induced current by which a rotating fan is rotated to thereby improve deviation of temperature in a storage chamber, in which the rotating fan which rotates in a magnetic levitation rotation manner or a fan which is driven and rotated by a driving motor, is installed on the bottom of a door to forcedly circulate internal air in the storage chamber, and the non-contact power supply device is installed between a main body and the door, and receives power from a power supply in the main body to then transfer power between the door and the main body by an electromagnetic induction.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, a Kimchi storage facility is one of electric home appliances which can maintain the taste and freshness of the Kimchi for a long time, including a ripening unit which ripens Kimchi by using a ripening heater, and a cooling cycle unit which maintains the ripened Kimchi at a low temperature by using the principle of a refrigerator. Recently, the Kimchi storage facilities stand in the spotlight of housewives.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external structure of a conventional storage facility in which preserved vegetables such as one Korean traditional food called “Kimchi” are kept in store. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of the Kimchi storage facility shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a Kimchi storage facility includes at least one storage chamber 300 in a main body 100 having an external appearance of a predetermined shape, and at least one door 200 which is located in the upper portion of the main body 100 and coupled by at least one hinge 210 in the upper-rear end of the main body 100, in order to open and close the at least one storage chamber 300.
Also, a display manipulator 400 having a number of buttons which can control Kimchi stored in the storage chamber 300 to be kept in store or ripened is installed in the upper-front portion of the main body 100.
Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a mechanic room 600 partitioned from the storage chamber 300 is formed in the lower portion inside the main body 100.
Here, in the mechanic room 600 are mounted a compressor 610 which is driven by an applied electric power and compresses a low-temperature low-pressure coolant into a high-temperature high-pressure coolant, and a cooling cycle unit including a condenser 620 for condensing the coolant having passed through the compressor 610.
Also, a control unit 640 is mounted in a control box in the mechanic room 600. The control unit 640 is connected to the display manipulator 400, and includes a printed circuit board (PCB) on which various chips and circuits are formed, in order to control the overall operations of the Kimchi storage facility such as the temperature in the storage chamber 300 and operations of a variety of the devices in the Kimichi storage facility.
Also, on the outer wall in the storage chamber 300 are provided an evaporator 630 which evaporates the coolant decompressed when the coolant has passed through the condenser 620 and a capillary tube into a low-temperature coolant at a low-pressure state, and absorbs heat from the air in the storage chamber 300, and cools the air in the storage chamber 300, a ripening heater 650 which heats the storage chamber 300 according to manipulation of the buttons on the display manipulator 400, under the control of the control unit 640, and a temperature sensor 660 which detects temperature of the storage chamber 300, under the control of the control unit 640.
The operation of the Kimchi storage facility having the above-described structure will be described below, in connection with a ripening process and a storing process for Kimchi.
First, a storing container which stores foods such as Kimchi which is the Korean preserved vegetables requiring a ripening process, is accommodated in the storage chamber 300 in a Kimchi storage facility, and then a basic control command relying upon the kind of Kimchi is selected by pressing buttons of the display manipulator 400, in order to drive the Kimchi storage facility.
Here, in the case that the stored Kimchi requires for a ripening process, the ripening heater 650 is made to operate according to a running course selected by the control unit 640, so that the Kimchi undergoes the ripening process.
When the Kimchi accommodated in the storage chamber 300 has been ripened into a user's desired state, the cooling cycle is made to operate to supply the storage chamber 300 with cold air.
That is, when the cooling cycle operates as described above, cold air is supplied from the evaporator 630 to the storage chamber 300. As a result, the temperature in the storage chamber 300 is lowered into a low temperature appropriate for a Kimchi storing temperature. In this manner, the Kimchi storing temperature in the storage chamber 300 is controlled by a predetermined set program to be maintained constant.
Thus, the Kimchi stored in the storage chamber 300 can be stored for a long time at a user's desired fresh state.
However, during a process of supplying the conventional storage chamber 300 with cold air and thus maintaining a temperature in the storage chamber 300 into a temperature appropriate for keeping the Kimchi in store, a deviation of temperature of 0.5˜1.0° C. may occur between the upper and lower portions in the storage chamber 300.
In this case, since the internal temperature in the storage chamber 300 is not maintained uniformly due to a temperature deviation, the stored Kimchi is not kept in store at a uniformly cool state in the upper and lower portions of the storage chamber 300, and thus ripened states of the Kimchi stored in the upper and lower portions of the storage chamber 300 may differ from each other.
As a result, since the temperature deviation in the storage chamber 300 may make a bad influence on the Kimchi stored for a long time in the storage chamber 300 when considering the features of Kimchi which is sensitive to a change in temperature during a process of ripening and storing Kimchi, it is one of very important technical factors to minimize the internal temperature deviation in the storage chamber 300 into 0.5° C. or lower in order to guarantee enhancement of performance of Kimchi storage facility and reliability of a product from consumers.
Here, reasons why the temperature deviation occurs in the upper and lower portions in the storage chamber 300, will be described below.
Coolant pipe which is the evaporator 630 which winds around the storage chamber 300 is usually wound from the lower portion to the upper portion in the storage chamber 300 when considering a flowing feature of coolant. Accordingly, coolant flows from the lower portion to the upper portion in the storage chamber 300, to thus perform heat exchange (that is, evaporation of coolant). As a result, the lower portion in the storage chamber 300 is subject to receive more cold air than the upper portion therein.
Thus, the temperature in the lower portion in the storage chamber 300 becomes low, and the temperature in the upper portion therein becomes high. Therefore, a temperature deviation occurs between the upper and lower portions in the storage chamber 300.
Further, a door 200 is provided in the upper portion of the storage chamber 300. Accordingly, although the door 200 is closed and thus the storage chamber 300 is in a sealed state, heat transfer such as heat conduction occurs through the upper sealed surface in the storage chamber 300. Also, external warm air may penetrate into the storage chamber 300 through the sealed surface in the storage chamber 300. As a result, since the storage chamber 300 may be easily influenced by the relatively higher external temperature, the temperature in the upper portion of the storage chamber 300 becomes higher than that in the lower portion thereof. That is, a temperature deviation occurs in the storage chamber 300.
In particular, when the door 200 is opened and closed, the cold air in the upper portion in the storage chamber 300 is discharged, and the external warm air flows in. Accordingly, the upper portion in the storage chamber 300 maintains a higher temperature than the lower portion therein.
In order to solve the above-described temperature deviation, it is desirable that the cold air in the storage chamber 300 is circulated convectively to uniformly cool the inner portion of the storage chamber 300. However, the conventional Kimchi storage facility cannot solve the temperature deviation naturally, since a natural convention phenomenon, where cold air falls down and warm air rises up, does not occur at a state where the storage chamber 300 maintains a sealed space.
That is, cold air cannot be convected naturally from the lower portion having a substantially low temperature in the storage chamber 300 toward the upper portion having a relatively higher temperature in the storage chamber 300.
Thus, the cold air in the upper and lower portions in the storage chamber 300 is forcedly convected to be mixed with each other, to thereby need to minimize the temperature deviation.
According to the above-described necessity, there have been proposed various methods which can forcedly convect cold air in the conventional storage chamber 300 in order to solve the temperature deviation problem in the storage chamber 300. One of them was filed as Korean Utility Model application by the same applicant as that of this application, in which a fan and a driving motor which are forced convection units are mounted on a door and cold air is forcedly circulated by the fan in a storage chamber.
That is, the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 2001-243228 on Oct. 15, 2001 entitled “Kimchi storage facility provided with forced convection unit” was disclosed by the same applicant.
Here, the Kimchi storage facility which was previously disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Publication will be described below.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a driving motor and a fan are mounted on a door of a conventional Kimchi storage facility. As shown in FIG. 3, the Kimchi storage facility includes a driving motor 510 which is installed in the middle of the inner portion of a door 200 and is driven by power applied from a power supply in a control unit 640 in a main body 100, and a fan 500 which receives a rotational force of the driving motor 510 to rotate and forcedly circulate air in a storage chamber 300.
Through the above-described configuration, the air in the storage chamber 300 is forcedly circulated by driving of the fan 500. In this process, warm air in the upper portion falls down and cold air in the lower portion rises up, so that the warm air and the cold air is mixed with each other, which is called a forced convection. Accordingly, the internal temperature in the storage chamber 300 maintains a uniform state in the upper and lower portions. As a result, Kimchi stored in the storage chamber 300 is uniformly cooled and kept in store more effectively.
However, in the case of the above-described Kimchi storage facility, a power supply line 520 (hereinbelow shortly a cable 520) should be connected from the main body 100 to the door 200 for supplying electric power in order to drive the fan 500 and the driving motor 510 which are installed on the rear surface of the door 200. When the conventional main body 100 and door 200 are fabricated separately and assembled in an assembly line, it is difficult to design a cable 520 connecting between the main body 100 and the door 200 in view of the conventional Kimchi storage facility structure, so that the cable 520 is not exposed. In the case that the cable 520 is exposed between the main body 100 and the door 200, it is difficult to finish the Kimchi storage facility neatly, to thus run a risk of reducing a consumer's purchasing desire.
In order to supplement the above-described problems, the Kimchi storage facility may be designed so that a cable 520 is not exposed. However, since a cable 520 should be connected between the main body 100 and the door 200 which are separately fabricated, the whole assembly process becomes hard.